Since we have been without power for several days and it probably won’t come back on for a day or two, I thought I would repost this piece from a talk I gave few years back. It’s quite long, but I hope it is profitable. Introduction. Let me begin with a few lines from T. S. Eliot: “Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, but …
Category: Worldview
Part One This completes the thoughts offered previously. 4. Systematic Theology Coming now to Systematic Theology the first thing that must be said is that the pretended stand for a partial system must be summarily dropped. Dispensational Theology cannot be switched out for the term Dispensational Premillennialism. In point of fact, I make bold to say that the notion of Dispensational Premillennialism is a bit of an odd bird without a full-orbed system to back it up. Most Dispensationalists have …
A Review of J. P. Moreland, Scientism and Secularism, Wheaton: Crossway, 2019, 222 pages, pbk J. P. Moreland is a seasoned Christian philosopher who has provided the Church with some very good tools in defense of the Faith and the Christian Worldview. He has been Professor of Philosophy at Biola for many years. This timely book is most welcome as it engages one of the most pernicious false ideas that has arisen from man’s innate hatred of God (Rom. 1:18-25). …
Revelation, be it in nature, within ourselves, or inscripturated in a book, is always God’s prerogative. It always comes from God, and man is designed to receive it. Man is not the one who starts with himself and discovers God in the universe, rather God discloses himself, and man ought to take immediate notice of God’s self-revelation. Let me start with a basic definition of general revelation: General Revelation is God’s self-disclosure in nature and in the psychological aspects of …
Part One The Importance of a Prolegomena, and the Importance of Having a Christian Philosophy There are all kinds of philosophies which the Christian should avoid. The Apostle warns, See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. – Colossians 2:8 The reference here is probably generic, referring to the various ideas floating around in Asia Minor in …
Here are the 12 video presentations on Apologetics & Worldview: An Introduction I recorded last year before a group of lay Christians who ranged from ages 15 to 70+. I cite quite a few authorities, and I hope to place these in readable form in the future. The average running time for each video is around one hour and thirty minutes. The Field of Vision The Background of Creation The Creator – Creature Distinction Dependent Reasoning Stressing the Antithesis Science and …
I was sent this book (and another that I must review soon) before Christmas and the publisher, quite understandably wishes me to review it. I am very happy to do so since this is a fine resource A Review of Leaving Mormonism: Why Four Scholars Changed Their Minds, edited by Corey Miller & Lynn K. Wilder, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 311 pages, paperback, 2017 This book is an great idea. Four former Mormons with academic credentials and a passion for …
I have been putting my introductory lectures for Telos on Apologetics & Worldview up on YouTube. There are several more to come, but I thought it would be useful to place the three classes dealing with Science together in a post. Throughout the classes I quote from quite a number of authorities. I hope this is more helpful than it is distracting. The first, “Science and Personal Knowledge” includes a study of Michael Polanyi’s theory of knowledge, which is important …
The Theological-Historical Motif of the Bible The God of the Bible is a God who is intimately connected with what He has made. This world is personal in a very genuine way. This personal dimension to reality is what makes the cross of Christ comprehensible. This is because the “Sin Problem” – what is wrong with this world – must be resolved by a personal God from above, on behalf of sinful persons. The cross is also interpretative of history, …
A review of Tom Bethell, Darwin’s House of Cards: A Journalist’s Odyssey Through The Creation Debates, Seattle: Discovery Press International, 2017, 293 pages, pbk. The widespread public acceptance of biological evolution in Darwin’s day was probably a product of the simultaneous faith in Progress. Darwin’s theory was accepted as readily as it was because it shared in the general belief that things were getting better. It’s not that the organisms themselves were being swept along, but that European and then …
